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South Coast Rail will begin service soon. Will your commute change?

For the first time in 65 years, communities in southeastern Massachusetts will have rail service to downtown Boston.

Middleborough's new commuter rail station, part of the South Coast Rail project is pictured under construction on Feb. 14, 2023. (Jonathan Wiggs /Globe Staff)

By Annie Jonas

March 13, 2025

2 minutes to read

For the first time in 65 years, Taunton, Freetown, and New Bedford will have passenger rail service to downtown Boston, starting on March 24.

The South Coast Rail project has been years in the making. Construction on Phase 1 of the project began in 2019, and connects southeastern Massachusetts residents to Boston for the first time since the late 1950s.

The rail extends service on the existing Middleborough/Lakeville line into Taunton, New Bedford, and Fall River. The line will be renamed the Fall River/New Bedford Line when service begins.

The MBTA said there will be 15 trips on the Fall River line and 17 on the New Bedford line daily, with a total of 32 trips between South Station and East Taunton. Weekend service will also be available for commuters, with 26 trips between South Station and Easton Taunton. Trains are scheduled to run every 70 minutes on weekdays and every two hours on weekends.

As a result of the project, the old Middleborough/Lakeville schedule was changed to incorporate the six new stations. On social media and town Facebook pages, some commuters expressed disappointment with the schedule changes.

“It’s great that this new rail and stations are opening. But [the MBTA] didn’t take into account the 1000’s of people that rely on the Kingston and Middleborough/Lakeville lines to get to their jobs, that they’ve been working at for years. The MBTA has changed the schedules dramatically!” a commuter said in a comment on Taunton’s Facebook post about South Coast Rail service beginning.

But not all commuters are upset about the schedule changes. In a post on an MBTA group on Reddit, one commuter described the adjustments as “the joy of commuting.”

“You make choices about what matters most to you, and base your decisions on that: Is it arrival time? Is it stress level? Is it convenience? Is it cost? … Doing the calculus of what matters most to you isn’t negative, it’s just life,” they wrote.

The earliest inbound weekday train leaves New Bedford at 4:27 a.m. and the latest weekday outbound train from South Station leaves at 11:59 p.m. Passengers can also transfer for free between trains at East Taunton station, where the Fall River and New Bedford lines meet.

If you’re a commuter in one of the cities and towns served by the South Coast Rail, we want to know how your commute will change as a result of the new passenger service, if at all. Are you frustrated, indifferent, or happy with the schedule changes?

Tell us by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.

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